Beginning four weeks from now, construction crews will be excavating four parking lots that adjoin Mission Creek and rebuilding them using more permeable materials designed to reduce storm runoff and absorb and contain pollutants before they make it down the creek into the ocean. Two of the lots in question serve Oak Park, one Stevens Park, and the other the Westside Neighborhood Center. Traditional parking lots consist of four inches of asphalt overlaying eight inches of gravel; they are designed to maximize water impermeability. The new ones will consist of a top layer of concrete square pavers that overlay a series of gravel layers that, combined, run three feet deep. The work is estimated to cost $1.8 million and will take six months.
